MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE 62nd WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS
[11 May 2025]
Pilgrims of Hope: the Gift of Life
Dear sisters and brothers,
On this, the 62nd World Day of Prayer for
Vocations, I wish to extend to you a joyful and
encouraging invitation to become pilgrims of
hope by generously offering your lives as a
gift.
A vocation is a precious gift that God sows in
our heart, a call to leave ourselves behind and
embark on a journey of love and service. Every
vocation in the Church, whether lay, ordained or
consecrated, is a sign of the hope that God has
for this world and for each of his children.
Nowadays, many young people feel dismayed as
they look to the future. Often they experience
insecurity about their prospects of employment
and a profound identity crisis, a crisis of
meaning and values, which the confused messages
of the digital world only aggravate. The unjust
treatment of the poor and vulnerable, the
indifference of a complacent and self-centred
society, and the brutality of war all threaten
the hopes for a fulfilling life that young
people cherish in their hearts. Yet the Lord,
who knows the human heart, does not abandon us
in our uncertainty. He wants us to know that we
are loved, called and sent as pilgrims of hope.
We, the adult members of the Church, and priests
in particular, are called to acknowledge,
discern and accompany the young on their
vocational path. You, young people, for your
part, are called to set out on that path,
together with the Holy Spirit, who awakens in
you the desire to make your lives a gift of
love.
Embracing our specific vocation
Dear young people, “your youth is not an
‘in-between time.’ You are the now of God” (Christus
Vivit, 178). Realize that the gift of life calls
for a generous and faithful response. Look to
the young saints and blesseds who responded
joyfully to the Lord’s call: Saint Rose of Lima,
Saint Dominic Savio, Saint Therese of the Child
Jesus, Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, the
soon-to-be Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio
Frassati, and many others. They experienced
their vocation as a path towards true happiness
through friendship with the risen Lord. Whenever
we listen to Jesus’ words, our hearts burn
within us (cf. Lk 24:32) and we feel the desire
to consecrate our lives to God. Naturally, we
want to find the way of life that will best
allow us toreturn the love with which he loved
us first.
Every vocation, once perceived in the depths of
the heart, gives rise to an impulse to love and
service, as an expression of hope and charity,
rather than a means of self-promotion. Vocation
and hope go together in God’s plan for the
happiness of each man and woman, all of whom are
called by name to give their lives for others
(cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 268). Many young people
seek to know the path God is calling them to
take. Some find, often to their surprise, that
they are called to the priesthood or to the
consecrated life. Others discover the beauty of
the call to marriage and family life, to the
pursuit of the common good and to a life of
witness to the faith among their friends and
acquaintances.
Every vocation is inspired by hope, marked by
confident trust in God’s providence. For
Christians, hope is more than mere human
optimism: it is a certainty based on our faith
in God, who is at work in each of our lives.
Vocations mature through the daily effort to be
faithful to the Gospel, and through prayer,
discernment and service.
Dear young friends, hope in God does not
disappoint, because at every step of the way he
accompanies those who entrust their lives to
him. Our world needs young people who are
pilgrims of hope, who courageously devote their
lives to Christ and rejoice in being his
disciples and missionaries.
Discerning our vocational path
The discovery of our vocation comes about as the
result of a journey of discernment. That journey
is never solitary, but develops within a
Christian community and as a part of that
community.
Dear friends, the world pushes you to make hasty
decisions and bombards you with a constant blare
that prevents you from experiencing a silence
that is open to God who speaks to the heart.
Have the courage to pause, to listen to what
your heart tells you, and to ask God about his
dreams for you. The silence of prayer is
indispensable if we are to learn how to hear
God’s call amid the specific circumstances of
our lives and to respond consciously and freely.
Prayerful recollection helps us to realize that
all of us can be pilgrims of hope if we make our
lives a gift, above all by placing ourselves at
the service of those who live on the world’s
material and existential peripheries. Those who
heed God’s call cannot turn a deaf ear to the
cry of so many of our brothers and sisters who
feel excluded, wounded and abandoned. Every
vocation confirms us in our mission of being
Christ’s presence wherever light and consolation
are most needed. In a particular way, the lay
faithful are called to be the “salt, light and
leaven” of the Kingdom of God through their
social and professional commitments.
Accompanying vocations
Consequently, pastoral ministers and vocation
directors, especially spiritual directors,
should readily accompany young people with the
hope, patience and trust that reflect God’s own
“pedagogy.” They should be capable of listening
to them respectfully and sympathetically, and
show themselves trustworthy, wise and helpful
guides, ever attentive to discerning the signs
of God’s presence in their journey.
I urge that every effort be made to foster
vocations in the various spheres of human life
and activity, and to help individuals to be
spiritually open to the Lord’s voice. It is
important, then, that adequate space be given to
the accompaniment of vocations in educational
and pastoral planning.
The Church needs pastors, religious,
missionaries and spouses capable of saying “yes”
to the Lord with trust and hope. A vocation is
never a treasure stored away in the heart;
rather, it grows and is strengthened within a
community that believes, loves and hopes. No one
can respond to God’s call alone, for all of us
need the prayers and support of our brothers and
sisters.
Dearly beloved, the Church is alive and fruitful
when she generates new vocations. Our world
looks, often unknowingly, for witnesses of hope
who proclaim with their lives that following
Christ is a source of true joy. Let us never
tire, then, of asking the Lord for new labourers
for his harvest, certain that with great love he
continues to call them. Dear young people, I
entrust your efforts to follow the Lord to the
intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church and
Mother of vocations. Keep walking as pilgrims of
hope on the path of the Gospel! I accompany you
with my blessing and I ask you, please, to pray
for me.
Rome, Gemelli Hospital, 19 March 2025.
FRANCIS
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